July is Cord Blood Awareness Month Cryo-Cell International is the world's first private cord blood bank. In 1992, the company was the first in the world to separate and preserve stem cells. Cryo-Cell has since maintained its leadership position and commitment to quality by being the most highly accredited private cord blood bank in the industry and by having partnerships with top stem cell research institutes. We invite you to compare cord blood banking costs and cord blood banks. We know you will join the over 500,000 parents from 87 countries who selected Cryo-Cell to help safeguard their families' future health. Storing stem cells is an important decision, as well as choosing the right stem cell bank and service to protect you, your baby and your family should the need arise. Cryo-Cell offers a number of services to discuss with your provider. Cord Blood is the blood that remains in the vein of the umbilical cord and placenta at the time of birth. Cord blood is rich in hematopoietic stem cells, which give rise to all the other blood cells and is the foundation of our bodies’ immune system. Cord blood stem cells are already being used to treat nearly 80 diseases, including: leukemia, lymphoma, anemia, and inherited metabolic disorders. Over 30,000 transplants worldwide have been performed using stem cells from umbilical cord blood and because stem cell technologies continue to advance, the opportunities to utilize preserved cord blood are steadily increasing. Stem Cells from your newborn’s cord blood can be used not only to safeguard that specific child’s future, but they can mostly likely be used to treat their siblings, parents and other close relatives in the event that a disease manifests itself. Cryo-Cell’s umbilical cord blood banking service processes and cryogenically preserves these cells for potential therapeutic use. Learn a little more thanks to Project Nursery by reading this wonderful article. #WeShareBecauseWeCare Here’s What You Need to Know About Cord Blood Banking - https://projectnursery.com/2017/07/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-cord-blood-banking/ Cryo-Cell International is a Sponsor & Exhibitor with the Baby Expo with ExpectingParentsAndBaby.com #pregnancy #expectingparents #cordblood

As part of National Cord Blood Awareness Month, Cord Blood Educator and R.N. Michele Mesbah spoke with Expecting Parents & Baby Expo to help inform expectant parents about the benefits of cord blood banking.

Cora Gambino: Michele, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Michele Mesbah: I’m a registered nurse. I am a child birth educator. I was a labor and delivery nurse for many years. I became a cord blood educator after having my three children. I wasn’t informed 19 years ago on cord blood banking, and the past ten years, I have been educated and informed about cord blood banking, and my husband, Dr. Michael Mesbah, is OBGYN; for over 20 years, we’re working with expectant parents, and we’ve been educating them and taking care of them, so as an educator, I am happy and excited to inform them of all the benefits of cord blood banking. It is a one-time opportunity that the parents get to store the baby’s cord blood, and they could store the cord blood to save those stem cells for themselves and the family to treat over 80 diseases. I believe, it is one of the most important decisions to make at the time of delivery.

Cora Gambino: If you store for one baby, do you have to store for the other subsequent pregnancies?

Michele Mesbah: We do recommend them storing for each and every pregnancy ‘cause depending on the disease, we do treat certain diseases with autologous blood, meaning the baby’s own cord blood. Certain diseases we can share the cord blood, and certain diseases we need to use autologous blood, such as cerebral palsy; we need autologous blood to treat those children.

Michele Mesbah: It is a decision that parents get to make after the baby is born to bank the baby’s cord blood and store it cryogenically. It is actually used to treat over 80 diseases today. Those stem cells are very crucial in curing about 80 diseases including autoimmune diseases, cancers, leukemia, cerebral palsy, and there is many, many more diseases that we are identifying.

Cora Gambino: Wow, that’s simply amazing to have an option like that. Now, what are the options between public and private?

Michele Mesbah: Private banking is basically to bank for you and your family. If you choose to store at a public bank, it is being donated for emergencies, and it does not necessarily mean you can use it for yourself and your family, but it is used for emergency situations. Cora Gambino: How long before should we call, or parents should call, to get their kit?

Michele Mesbah: We do recommend parents to decide about two months before they actually go into labor so they do get a kit prepared for them to bring into the hospital to give to their physicians. Physicians are very well informed about cord blood banking. There is a process for how to collect the cord blood, which all OBs usually know how to do, and they will store it for them. They will collect it into the kit, and then they will have a private medical courier come at the bedside and take it to our facility, if they choose Cryo-Cell International, in Oldsmar, Florida.

Cora Gambino: What is the difference between cord blood banking and stem cells?

Michele Mesbah: Cord blood banking is the stem cells. We will retrieve the stem cells at the birth of the baby. They’ll withdraw the stem cells; they’ll store cryogenically in a lab, and it is stored indefinitely, and it is stored for the family in case they need it for the child and their immediate family. It is used to treat, like I said, over 80 diseases today. It is one of the most important decisions a parent could make. I have a 19-year-old and an 18-year-old and a 16-year-old, and at the time, I was not informed of cord blood banking.

Cora Gambino: There wasn’t much information out there to begin with.

Michele Mesbah: Cryo-Cell is actually the very first company that started in the industry of cord blood, in 1989, and then started the first collection, in 1992, so they have been around for a very long time. Not every company is the same. Accreditation is very important. They are the very first company; they have the highest accreditation in the industry, which is very important when parents are looking to bank their cord blood. They’re AABB-, FDA- and FACT-accredited.

Cora Gambino: That’s amazing! Rumor has it that cord blood banking is very expensive. How true is that?

Michele Mesbah: Well, when you’re putting an investment in your child and your family, it really is up to the parents and how important it is for medical emergencies if they like to invest their money this way. The nice thing is that Cryo-Cell does offer many different options for the parents to afford cord blood banking, finance planning and baby registries, so these things all do help.

Cora Gambino: That sounds like the perfect baby shower gift.

Michele Mesbah: Yes, it is definitely helpful.

Cora Gambino: Thank you, Michele, for being here. Thank you for joining us on Parents and Baby. We look forward to seeing you next time.